LANSING, Mich. - State school Superintendent Michael
Flanagan asked lawmakers and teachers unions Thursday to settle their
differences and clear the way for Michigan to apply for up to $400 million in
federal funding for public schools, The Detroit News reported.

To do that, Michigan must open the door to more charter
schools, make it easier for qualified people to become teachers, and connect
the dots between individual teachers and their students' performance on
standardized tests, The News reported.

The state has until January to submit an application for
Race to the Top funds, which will be allocated to states primarily on the
grounds of how ready they are to implement measures to improve teacher quality,
expand use of data and address failing schools.

"We have to have a number of pieces of legislation or
we will not win Race to the Top," Flanagan told the House Education
Committee, according to The News. "Colorado and some other states are
exceeding the requirements. If we don't exceed the minimums we're going to lose
the race."

The Michigan Education Association opposes some of the
reform ideas, The News reported.

MEA lobbyist Dave Stafford told the committee that if
teachers are evaluated on the basis of student scores, some teachers will be
reluctant to take on hard-to-educate students, The News reported. He also said
that the MEA opposes alternative certification of people with nonteaching
degrees.